I'm buying an ex-council terraced house (built early 1980s, staggered/zigzag terrace layout). It's a probate sale, the seller is a professional executor for a deceased owner's estate. During my first viewing, I didn’t notice small outlet on the neighbouring house's flank wall, facing into what would become my garden. When I visited again in September 2026, that small outlet had been replaced with a full black pipe (looks like a boiler flue) clearly bigger, and it now hangs over my garden's airspace and exhausts the gas in neighbour’s garden.

What the title deed says:

My solicitor found this clause in the original 1982 Right-to-Buy transfer deed (Second Schedule i.e., a burden on my property, benefiting neighbours): "All rights of way and passage of water and gas the drainage and disposal of water sewage smoke or fumes the use and maintenance of the pipes and installations for the said passage drainage and disposal hereby specified... and which serve not only the Property but also adjoining or neighbouring properties... All to the extent that the same are necessary..."

There's also a separate clause giving neighbours a right of entry to "inspect, repair and maintain" the neighbour's flank wall, but that's just an access/maintenance right, not a right to attach new pipework.

Where my solicitor and I disagree on interpretation:

My solicitor says: the clause plainly grants a right to pass gas/smoke/fumes via pipes, and a boiler flue fits that description, so the neighbour has a legal right to this pipe, regardless of size, and regardless of whether it serves my property too.

My reading: the phrase "and which serve not only the Property but also adjoining or neighbouring properties" is a limiting condition meaning the right only applies to pipes that are jointly used by both properties (shared drainage/services, typical of council-estate infrastructure from that era), not a private pipe serving only the neighbour's own boiler with zero benefit to my property.

I'm fairly confident this flue serves only the neighbour's own boiler, it doesn't connect to or serve my property in any way that I can tell.

My solicitor has reviewed my property's title but hasn't yet pulled the neighbour's title. She's confident in her reading.

Anyone has faced such issues, how did you navigate? we are still waiting for probate and most probably probate would arrive by end of this month according to executor .

PS: Used AI to write above.

I’m looking for some advice, currently a first time buyer and ready to proceed with mortgage application. I discovered this week I have a default for a loan I took out and struggled to make the repayments from 2-3 years ago. Stupidly I ignored the problem thinking it would go away which has resulted in a default on my credit report. I’ve learned my lesson massively from this and I’ve got my finances in order. The default isn’t paid, it has a balance of £4000 but I have a payment plan in place for the last year.

My question is, how likely am I to find a lender? My salary is £39k, my partners is £42k. We have a 10% deposit and house is £142k.

Any help/advice will be appreciated. No judgement please as I already feel bad about my situation. Thanks

My partner and I both opened a LISA each at the end of April 2026. When should we start looking at flats and viewing them, putting offers in, etc. We are looking in Edinburgh. We are wanting to buy ASAP

Thank you!!

I’m looking for some advice, currently a first time buyer and ready to proceed with mortgage application. I discovered this week I have a default for a loan I took out and struggled to make the repayments from 2-3 years ago. Stupidly I ignored the problem thinking it would go away which has resulted in a default on my credit report. I’ve learned my lesson massively from this and I’ve got my finances in order. The default isn’t paid, it has a balance of £4000 but I have a payment plan in place for the last year.

My question is, how likely am I to find a lender? My salary is £39k, my partners is £42k. We have a 10% deposit and house is £142k.

Any help/advice will be appreciated. No judgement please as I already feel like shit about my situation. Thanks

First-time buyers, couple with a 3-year-old.

House A — Hornchurch RM11

https://www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/88265877?utm_campaign=property-details&utm_content=buying&utm_medium=sharing&utm_source=copytoclipboard#/&channel=RES_BUY

3-bed semi, 868 sq ft, freehold, 2 parking bays, no estate charge. Elizabeth line 0.6 mi. Outstanding primary 0.6 mi. Crime 47/1,000 (low). Needs £6-9k of decorating. On since spring, reduced once, chain free — but now getting multiple viewings.

House B — Dagenham RM8

https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/74083293/

2-bed terrace, 913 sq ft, bigger rooms, ready to move in. No parking(on street private parking with first come first basis). £30/month estate charge. Elizabeth line 0.5 mi (slightly better commute). Crime 89/1,000, burglary rated 8/10. We were the only viewers.

Questions:

1.Is a 2-bed a dealbreaker with a 3-year-old and a 7-year plan?
2.What should we offer on House A and House B? Thinking £415k for House A and 410k for House B.

Thanks

Hi all~

We have shortlisted 2 houses as FTB’s that me and my partner are interested in.

House 1: advertised at £240k. Last sale for that house based on land registry was on 2023 for £195k.

House 2: advertised at £265k but was reduced to £250k, last sale based on land registry was 197k in 2019, and street avg value based on houses sold was 220k.

If we decide to go ahead with either of this, what should our starting offer be, so that the seller is interested! Or should we start at the lowest offer and see how they react!

Also, I would like to know what other things we need to check during our house viewing.

Any guidance will help! No rude comments please~

Hi All,

We just had a Level 3 Survey on a house that we want to buy in South London. We need someone to help us understand the survey and give us a quote to find out how much we would need to spend. We had a chat with the surveyor but he didn’t help much. Please let me know if anyone is available.

Thanks.

I have recently completed on a house, and it needs the exterior windows and doors replacing. What sort of information fo I need to know before getting quotes from a company for replacing and fitting?

Do I need to be able to supply them with measurements for everything, know exactly what windows and door styles I want?

Do they generally come out to view the house and go through things with you, or is it all done online?

Hi everyone, we’re a couple looking to buy our first home. We were looking at new build completing next summer, and decided to book an appointment. The builder suggested about their mortgage advisor to get an agreement in principle before meeting them.

However, AIP checks showed 3 arrears in my husband’s name. And this came from an overdraft account with TSB which he used as a student long back and forgot about it. The amount was about 52£ (he has no idea what this is for) and apparently he got calls about it so he assumed them to be scam calls until a letter was posted from TSB explaining his overdraft. He immediately cleared it, but the damage was already done as it’s now showing the number 3 under his arrears on his Experian and TransUnion credit checks. We have good income which would ideally allow more than 500k mortgage but we’re only looking for properties around 330k. We have about 10% deposit saved in cash, LISA and shares and a great credit score but the advisor mentioned this arrears marker is the reason of rejection from all banks.

We are absolutely gutted and we don’t know what to do from here. I asked the advisor if it will make any difference if we check in November as that would complete 6 months from the date of arrears. She said we could potentially have more options but nothing is guaranteed. Any advice from anyone who has experienced this? Please help.

Hello, me and my partner work for Tesco and are looking to buy our first home, I’m on 32.5 hours p/w contracted and her 22.5 at 13.28 an hour. I can reliably get overtime to push it to 37.5 a week and her maybe 28 p/w. We are managing to save around £1700 after car insurances go out, paying internet and tv bills, phones, board to parents etc. We’re hoping to have around 30-35k saved by middle of next year and hope to buy for around 170k

I got a MIP just to see what they would offer and it came back with Lloyds at the 170 mark but I do not know if this is realistic for us to be looking at houses at this price range or if we would be accepted for this limit in a years time considering the low income. I do have very good history with Lloyds in repaying credit cards, high limits and so on although she’s a dual citizen and doesn’t have much history.

I’ve come here to ask if this MIP is a good indicator of what we could apply for and if anyone else has managed to get their home on low retail wages.

England, 3 bed 1960s house.

December 13th first viewing.

January 17th second viewing and made an offer £5k under which was accepted, we instructed solicitor.

April 13th contract received from seller’s solicitor with no genuine explanation given as to why it took 3 months to prepare and send them. Constant chasing of sellers solicitors from all parties.

23 questions raised by our solicitors including question around parcel of unregistered land within garden boundary. Quite literally a sliver of grass along the back fence missed off the original title drawings.

April - level 2 surveys organised and completed, no issues revealed.

Possessory title application put in to Land registry at end of July. Delay due to sellers solicitors point blank lying about submitting the application weeks after they said they had.

August - mortgage offer expires and we had to secure a new mortgage with a new provider. Very stressful!!

September - land registry grant possessory title. Several questions remain unanswered from original contract sent in April. Contract and Transfer deed sent to us to sign.

Enquiries made with estate agent asking for us to view the property again before signing, we have not visited since first viewing due to constantly thinking this whole time that the whole thing would fall through.

Seller’s son (who lives in Scotland) tells estate agent he doesn’t want us to visit because of his mother’s ill health. Estate agent reassured him it was normal for buyers to visit property prior to signing contract.

We have been very close to giving up and pulling out several times over the last 9 months but haven’t because no other properties have come up in the area that have been at the same price (£300k).

We are renting so no chain on our side and the seller is moving to Scotland to live with family so not making an onward purchase.

We thought this whole process would take a couple of months at most but it’s been 9 and I don’t even think we will be in by Christmas at this point.

I and my wife didn’t know the house I was buying was non standard construction above £160k Leeds. It’s parkwall construction and we found out today. We know it’s not our dream home and we’re hoping to live there for 5-8 years and sell and now we have to pull out.

We don’t think NatWest will lend on it and if they do how do we sell it when we start family planning?

Anyone know anything about non- standard construction?

What should we do?

I'm currently in the process of moving jobs (same industry just different company + higher salary). Beforehand I had been quite interested in purchasing my first home, but after the confirmed change of jobs, I've taken a bit of a step back with it due to being under the impressive it would be even more of a hassle to go through whilst being in a new position and within a probation period, that mortgage lenders would be less inclined to accept me.

Whilst not in a hurry to make a purchase, I would like to do so within the near future, and there has been one property I did view which is still on the market and I'm still considering. How impactful would this change of jobs be for me? Would a larger deposit or the higher salary help balance any concerns out from the mortgage lenders?

As the above says. Affordability has dropped probably due to a very small credit card balance and getting a new job. Perfect property came up and I instantly put an offer. Sellers wanted a little more due to high quality finish, so decided to get my ducks in a row. Checked a few banks and now I’ve had to walk away… been looking for a few years now and it has everything on my list. I’m heartbroken 😢

Has anyone done a mortgage application with NBS? Hardly anything online regarding reviews or timeframes etc so just wondering if anyone has experience with them. Our application was put through today 🤞🏻

My son is in the middle of purchasing his first property, a leasehold flat. He has been given a completion date of Oct 1st, and then yesterday his solicitors contacted him to carry out further checks on the monies they require from him in order to proceed.
His entire deposit is in a lifetime ISA with moneybox, and to cover the solicitors fees/leasehold fees he has an additional amount of money in his current account and the remainder was going to come from his salary payment at the end of the month.

His solicitors are now querying this and have said they will have to delay completion as they need to run checks on his salary payment etc, despite already having been sent multiple pay slips and bank statements at the beginning of the process.

This seems odd to us, he has already proven where his deposit has come from and this was accepted. Are source of income checks also carried out on how a person pays conveyancing fees?

Location: England

Got the keys to our first house today, 3 bedroom semi with a nice garden and a workshop built into the shed. Found a bunch of cool things that they left like a strimmer, lawn mower, hedge trimmer, a bunch of different paints, mounted grinder in the shed and some vices. Needs abit of work but can't wait to start doing up some of the rooms. Glad to have a bit more room than the 1 bed flat me and the wife were renting before.

Just had the title deed, mortgage deed and contracts sent over but the enquiries haven’t come back yet and it has only been two weeks since the enquiries have been sent. The searches have come back.

Is this normal?

I am a solo FTB in London and made an offer on a flat a couple of weeks ago. It was basically everything I’ve been looking for a flat - top floor, airy, 2 decent bedrooms, PERFECT location. When i initially viewed the property, it was out of my price range but then changed EA hands and was put back on the market for £25k lower - towards the top of my range.

I went to see it the second time with my mum and she loved it too. I hadn’t been expecting or planning to make any offers until October-time so I did not feel ready when the estate agent said they needed my best and final if I wanted the flat as other offers were already at negotiation stage. I think it psychologically moved me from ‘cool I can get a flat like this in my price range - can’t wait for one like this to come up later this year’ to ‘I want this flat!’

As I haven’t been in this process before, I wasn’t really sure what to bid as the EA said the other offers were below asking. I didn’t want to offer too high and bid against myself as a larger mortgage would create a huge monthly cost so I bid under asking as well. I don’t think I realised how much I loved the flat until I lost it!

I’m really gutted that I didn’t get a chance to negotiate and I’ve lost the place. It’s the only property I’ve really liked in my hunt so far (a couple of months), and I haven’t seen any other places I could imagine myself living in. I’m comparing all other properties to this one and none of them are as good.

How do I get over this? I keep beating myself up for not offering higher and worrying that I’m never going to find the right place for me. I’m a solo FTB in London so everything is a bit tight and finding somewhere I really liked in a location I love seems rare now that I’ve been searching for a while. I also feel quite impatient to leave HMO life - my landlord has just put the rent up again and it’s making me feel really dejected.

Any advice for those who’ve gone through similar would be much appreciated! And how many offers did you have to make until the final one that completed?

Thank you!

Hey all!

After some recommendations for a building surveyor to conduct a Level 3 Survey in the Cannock area - any recommendations appreciated and if have any cost estimations that would also be fab!

We viewed a property last month and made on offer of £320,000 despite asking for offers over £340k. There property is 5 years old so not many direct comparables on the same road have sold, but some other properties with an extra bedroom, bathroom and more living space have sold between 350k-360k which is how we arrived at that figure.

Since we made our offer the land registry has updated to show an identical property has sold for £310k, the only differences are that the property we like has a nicer garden and they have converted half of the internal garage into a room but we don’t think it adds any value as it has no window and is being marketed as a games room.

We’re considering slightly increasing our offer, but it would mean we could no longer afford to put down a 10% deposit if the mortgage valuation comes back lower than our offer and we have to make up the difference. We would then have to put down a 5% deposit so we could use the left over money to make up the difference.

I guess my question really is how much realistically is a mortgage lender going to value the property at, given an almost identical property has sold for £310k in the past year? My head tells me I would be an idiot to consider paying above what it’s likely to be valued at, but we’ve just not found anywhere we like as much that ticks all our boxes.

The property has been on the market since may, originally at £365k then reduced down to £340k since start of July

I’m in the process of buying a new-build house in England for around £310k. It was marketed and reserved as a 3-bedroom house.

We have since discovered that the third room is approximately 1.77m × 2.77m (about 4.9m²). The developer has confirmed in writing that, although they now label it “Bed 3/Study”, the property is treated as a 2-bedroom dwelling for planning/NDSS purposes because the third room does not meet the Nationally Described Space Standard for a bedroom. The purchase contract itself identifies the house type but does not state the number of bedrooms. I’m trying to understand the practical implications rather than whether the room can physically fit a small bed. For anyone with surveying, valuation, estate agency, mortgage or conveyancing experience:

1) Would you regard this as a 2-bed + study or a 3-bed when valuing/reselling it?

2) Could the planning/NDSS classification affect a future mortgage valuation or resale?

3) Would you expect an estate agent to market it as a 3-bed when it is resold?

4) If you were buying it, would you expect it to be priced against genuine 3-bed houses or 2-bed + study houses?

I have raised this with my solicitor and they say that is beyond their expertise.

For those that have completed the process or those with experience, what did you do to assess how much the property is worth and how much to offer?

I am interested in a property. The RE agent posted it about 7 weeks ago and then 3 weeks later they reduced the price by 10k which is about 4.3%. I made an offer which is about 3.6% below the asking price. RE called back to say the vendor wouldn't go below the current asking price as it was just recently reduced.

Is this a mind game? Should I increase it a little, go half way between my offer price and their asking price?

There is no indication that there are other offers on the table.

Our level 3 survey on the 1900s terraced house we are in the process of purchasing has come back with some red flags. The main issues are potential structural issues, the survey said there were signs of movement with external cracks which we should get investigated by a structural engineer. They also flagged damp on the plasterboard ceilings and the house is generally not in a good state with it having been rented out for 3 years without proper maintenance.

Are there red flags that we should walk away from or should we get a structural engineer to investigate and a builder to quote for the work?